Hiking footwear first look: Altra Lone Peak 1.5
| Altra Lone Peak 1.5 | |
|---|---|
| Size | women’s 9.5 |
| Weight | 20.05 oz |
| Drop | 0 mm |
| Stack | 22 mm |
When I decided to hike the PCT in 2014, I knew I didn’t want to use the shoes that gave me blisters in 2013. I liked using trail runners though, so I dug into the research, read some reviews, and tried on more shoes. My goal was to find a shoe with a wide toe box that could stand up to the rigors of thru-hiking without being an additional burden.
Enter the Altra Lone Peak 1.5s.
I picked up a pair at the end of December, and have been using them for walking, hiking, biking, and running. Based on two months of testing, my initial assessment is that I like them, and feel optimistic that I have found my PCT shoe.
Altra Lone Peak 1.5s, side view. In the super neutral “traffic orange” color scheme. Photo by Meg.
The first mention of these shoes I came across was in the gear list of the hiker who set the new PCT unsupported record: Heather Anderson. She hiked the entire ~2650 mile trail in 60 days, 17 hours, and 12 minutes. What an incredible feat!
Heather is an ultra-marathoner, as well as experienced thru-hiker, and had used these shoes for mountain races before wearing them on the PCT. I thought, if she can wear those for 44 miles a day, they would likely be able to hold up for whatever paltry-in-comparison mileage I’ll be cranking out. I have since found other hikers’ positive reviews of using these shoes on long hikes, as well as a few negative reviews of the shoes breaking down quickly, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for faster-than-expected wear & tear.
Shoe Specs
The Lone Peaks are a zero-drop (no difference in height between the toe and the heel), non-waterproof, moderately cushioned shoe designed for trail running. They’re a bit heftier than the 18.3 oz PureGrit 2s, but so far I haven’t noticed the weight difference. I do notice the additional cushioning; I neither love it nor hate it so far.
Altra Lone Peak 1.5s, front view. Straight chillin’. Photo by Meg.
The shoes felt good on their first shakedown hike: a 20 mile roundtrip overnight to Sykes Hot Springs in Big Sur in January. The traction was fine, the cushioning felt nice, and most importantly, I didn’t get any blisters. I also took them out on a 11.5 mile hike on paved and dirt trails at Lake Chabot last weekend; that time I did get a hot spot on the side of my right heel.
Most of my testing for these shoes has been weekly running: I’ve clocked about 35 miles on them so far, mostly on pavement, some on dirt. I got a hot spot in the same spot on my right heel once during a run; I’m not sure what’s causing these, and am hoping the skin in that area will toughen up over time. No toe blisters have reared their ugly heads.
My feet and legs seem to have adapted by this point to zero-drop from the 4 mm drop of my last shoes. My calves get a bit sore after runs, but no more than normal when increasing mileage, and I haven’t experienced any tendon pain.
I’ve just started trying out a new lacing method that is less tight around the forefoot, which is supposed to be good for wide feet. I’ve tested it so far with a 5 mile run. The hot spot on the right side of my heel didn’t surface at all, but there was some rubbing on the left heel. This lacing feels promising, so I’ll keep playing around with it.
Alternate lacing to favor the forefeet.
One fun feature of these shoes is the velcro on the back, which allows me to attach gaiters without any modifications. I tested this out on my Lake Chabot hike last weekend, and the gaiters felt secure. In fact, I didn’t feel them or think about them at all while walking, which is a big plus to me.
Velcro on the backs of the Altras — open on left, closed on right.
Overall, I am happy with these shoes. I’ve put around 65 miles total on them, and they don’t show any signs of breaking down yet.
Initial Verdict
Though a part of me wants to find an even lighter shoe (lighter, Lighter, LIGHTER), the rest of me, the part that remembers just how hard it is to find wide enough shoes, says “YAY, DONE.”
[Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, or a shoe professional. Please do your own research on footwear, and take everything I say with however many grains of salt float your boat. This is a this-worked-for-me story, not here’s-what-you-should-do advice. I bought all shoes with my own money, and the links are for your reference, not affiliate links.]
Hi! I’m enjoying reading all about your backpacking journeys! How I found your blog was through the Altra trail shoe review. Interestingly enough I also own the Keen Targhees. I did ok with them, but because my foot slipped so much on the downhills, my toes were bruised badly. I’m just merely a beginner though and am in awe of your successful through hikes.
My question for the Altra lone peak 1.5 is did you buy them a full size up than your normal everyday shoe size? I ended up getting the Targhees in my normal size. Had I bought them bigger, I would have had other issues. I have learned that I can place a pad on the underside of the tongue to meet the top of my foot to keep them from sliding.
I’m going to start looking to see if I can purchase these shoes locally, but most likely I will have to order them online and I’m not very good about sending things back. This will also be my first zero drop shoe, so I will be transitioning into a more minimalist shoe.
Also, did you find any issues regarding your feet and pack weight? I’m not even close to being a light backpacker.
I appreciate your input. Thanks!
I started the hike in women’s Lone Peak 1.5 size 9.5, and kept going up in size. Nowadays, I’m trying to stay closer in shoe size to the size of my feet. If you don’t have local access to a store that carries the shoes, perhaps you can use an online company like Zappos that makes returns relatively easy.
As for transitioning, I did take a few months to get used to the zero drops before the PCT, and I had been hiking and running in 4mm drop shoes for the previous year. It’s easy to get overuse injuries if you jump right into lower drop shoes, especially if you throw in lots of weight.
With the cushioning on the Lone Peaks, I didn’t notice any issues with pack weight hurting my feet. I would recommend staying with the higher stack weight shoes for sure though, as I did know people who had issues where their shoes didn’t have a rock plate or much cushioning. Hope you have a great hike!
I’m interested to know if you have high arches? Unfortunately I have a wide toebox, narrow midfoot and high arches. Brooks has been my go to running shoe for a long time, but get the hot spots on the toes for run mileage 13+. Going to try your new lacing method though…(Researching the Altra Lone). Thanks!
Superb shoes